by Terry Hutchens, USA TODAY Sports

by Terry Hutchens, USA TODAY Sports

CHICAGO - Cody Zeller said the competitor in him wishes he would be participating this week at the NBA Scouting Combine.

But on the advice of his agent, Zeller will stay on the sidelines.

"It's tough, but I'll trust my agent's advice,'' Zeller said today. "If I could do it, I'd love to be out there.''

Conventional wisdom is that players projected to be lottery picks in next month's NBA draft can do more harm than good at the Scouting Combine. Zeller is projected to be the No. 4 pick in the latest mock draft by nbadraft.net.

Only a handful of the top players worked out on Thursday. UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad was an exception. So was Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk. IU's Victor Oladipo and Kansas guard Ben McLemore were scheduled to work out later in the day in the final grouping.

So Zeller will basically do the same thing Friday that he did Thursday - sit on the baseline in a folding chair and watch others work out. In the first group of players working out, Zeller sat with Georgetown's Otto Porter Jr. When his group worked out, Zeller sat with former Duke standout Mason Plumlee.

Zeller will, however, do the weight testing, agility drills and vertical measurement Friday. He will also continue to have interviews with NBA teams. He has done four, with Toronto, Portland, Houston and Boston. He has nine more scheduled.

Since completing his final exams at IU, Zeller has been working out in Los Angeles with former Park Tudor coach Ed Schilling. On Sunday, Zeller will fly back to the West Coast to resume those workouts. In a few weeks, he'll do individual workouts for NBA teams.

Reporters at the combine have questioned Zeller's shooting range. He explained that with all of the weapons IU had last season, the Hoosiers didn't need him to shoot from outside.

"It was what coach (Tom) Crean said was best for our team, and I was in complete agreement,'' Zeller said. "It just wasn't our game plan. But I know I can shoot from the outside and I'm looking forward to showing that to NBA teams when I work out for them individually in the next month.''

Zeller said he's comfortable shooting beyond the college three-point range. His next step will be to move out behind the NBA line. He said he's being projected as a power forward in the NBA.

"I can see myself catching it in the mid-post and then using my quickness to get my shot,'' Zeller said. "As for the NBA three-pointer, it just wasn't something we practiced in college. I think as I get more reps with it, I'll be a lot more comfortable.''